Writing about Nature and Environmental Issues
MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing program offers this course on reading and writing about the American landscape as a symbolic subject. Students examine works depicting uneasy encounters between ordinary people and animals invested with cultural meaning, such as wolves, eagles, and sandhill cranes, alongside texts that explore the tension between the American impulse to control unruly nature and the impulse to preserve it untouched. Coursework centers on close reading of assigned essays and literary pieces paired with student writing assignments that respond to and build on those readings. Materials are provided through MIT OpenCourseWare, including the syllabus, readings list, and writing assignments, free to access, with no certificate offered. The course suits students interested in environmental writing, nature imagery in American literature, or nonfiction composition grounded in ecological and cultural themes.